Are tantrums in the air?

N

niko

Well-Known Member
Joined
3 July 2008
Messages
543
Visit site
Took my mare to my riding club annual weekend plenty of activity over 2 days and camp out. I have had her since the end of Jan and she has been pretty much foot perfect since then. I broke my vertebrae and have been unable to ride her for 6wks and she was brought into work 2 days before (tb x conn doesnt lose fitness). I got her as a 4yr old and now turned 5. She has been in the field for that time with my mums mare and is only seperated when mum was riding. On Sat she squealed her head off when trying to ask her to work away from my mums mare & she was'nt much better than asking her to go away from the stable block into canter for grids she threw a few bucks (never has & i know she wanted mums mare) few slaps on the behind & she got the idea and started working well. They were then seperated all day. On Sun morning we had tack & turn out & again the same thing squealing (ready to take out her vocal chords!) then when everyone left the arena i wanted to keep her in to teach her she doesnt need to rely on mums mare. Well i knew i was in for a fight & it was pouring & reins very slippy. Well she threw the tantrum of the century & started napping bucking & half rearing. I have never had to touch her with a whip before but she knew what it was after, she was serious & so was i, i wasnt prepared to let her win & it was a rodeo for 5mins & i don not know how i stayed on. Is this the start of the terrible teens & if so what would you's do? I dont like fighting but i detest horses getting too attached! Cookies & Cream for getting this far!
 
I know you may get some posts saying you shouldnt have a fight over it and suggesting all sorts of rubbish as apparently you shouldnt smack horses however :-

My friend has spent the last too many years sharing a yard with a 'spamhead' grey mare sho is so bad at being left alone that they cannot even put her in the stable when they take the other horse out even though she is geriatric she has to go too otherwise she would do herself a serious injury. It caused endless problems with her previous horse and made hi m a little neurotic too. They got a rescue pony to keep it company but she hates it with a vengeance and it hates her.

She now has a new horse and she cant go anywhere without the spammy grey unless its owner is on its back keeping it occupied. It would drive me nuts so yes nip it in the bud now before they make life a misery for themselves and you.
 
I am not too sure it was such a good idea to take her to camp with 2 days work in her. I am not in any way trying to have a go at you at all, just suggesting that her lack of work may explain her behaviour. She is a very young horse, she had a long time off (for a young horse to not be mentally stimulated I mean, I am sure she was fit enough), and then she was asked quite a big question involving travelling, a new place, etc. I think it really explains why she was feeling insecure and 'latched' on to the most familiar person around which was your mum's mare. A trip away from home is quite a big test for a young horse and it might be better to 'stack the odds' in your favour next time, by making sure you have worked with her closely, have tried smaller tests (e.g. work at home on her own, hack on her own, go to a show without your mum's mare), before you try camp with your mum's mare again. Well done on riding her through it though, given the circumstances it was the best thing to do!
 
If she is only turned out with your mums mare I'd expect her to get very attached.

I'm sure it wont take long to get her out of it but try and bring them in at seperate times for feeding, grooming ect. as much as possible and you could try lunging or long reining 1st before you get on her.
 
Thankyou for your views much appreciated, though i should of supplied maybe a bit more background. My mare is a well adjusted youngster fine on her own at shows, hacked out for the two days on her own beforehand and is as fit as a racehorse! The camp was also two miles from home and she knows the surroundings and would train there at least every two weeks. She also has a mini as a field companion if one is left alone & mentally she is more mature than my mums 12yr old. I will not repremand a horse un-neccessarily and do not carry a whip unless to use it as a fly swat! She does not need to be lunged before riding and diet has not changed & after the fight she was put in her box & quite happily munched on hay for an hr before a dressage test. Now i was reluctant to enter her but thought why not, and she behaved impeccably & not a noise came from her though mums horse was calling. All i can think of was she testing me as she hasnt to date & then accepted the outcome? She was very relaxed and walked on a loose rein in the test and got plenty of fuss& for the rest of the day was her usual self, im still baffled!
 
Do not pander to them, doesn't mean you have to beat them up, but they should do what you tell them.

All of my youngsters are well adjusted people that you can leave in stables by themselves, and whilst they may call and pace a little, thats all.

I know people who never leave their horses alone and now have real problems with them. Youngsters are going to test you and you will have the odd fight.
 
I seperate my two 4 years olds several times a week whilst I ride one out, school etc the other is left in the field or the stable. I think this allows them to be very good friends but not so attached they can't be seperated if I want to. I expect them not to call and muck about and if they do I work them until they settle either from the ground or onboard.

Both of them are able to be left in the stable with no other horses around with no problem, and have been left in the field alone with no other horses, but this is something I do try to avoid as it is more stressful being out in an open space alone than in the stable alone.

I would keep carefully seperating them and work on getting them to rely on you for support than other horses. I have hacked my youngster out alone from the beginning after reading Richard Maxwell's birth to backing where he states the horse should depend on the rider and not other horses - if only my previous mare had been hacked out this way - she was impossible to hack out solo.

Youngsters do like to test you from time to time - as I am finding out now having double trouble hairy horses.
 
It sounds like it was one of those weird things that horses sometimes do then. I would forget about it and get on with her as normal. If she does it again then it might be a bit of a teenage tantrum (my youngster suddenly started stopping and going backwards on hacks, but we worked through it and four weeks later he is back to his normal self, so sometimes they do try it on to see what happens).

Good luck!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top